The Gallant Boys Of Gettysburg Essay, Research Paper

The story I read took place mostly at the Battle of Gettysburg. Tom and

Jeff Majors had just enrolled in the Confederate army. Tom enrolled as a

private and Jeff as a drummer boy. Their dad, Nelson Majors, who had been

in the army for quite some time, had just been promoted to Major. Tom and

Jeff were appointed to their father’s unit. They fought in the Battle of

Gettysburg which was the worst battle of the Civil War. The death total for

the battle was great. The Union and the Confederates lost a total of 18,000

men each. During the worst part of the battle, a shell hit Tom’s leg. Jeff

immediately carried him to the field doctor. The doctor told Tom that his

leg would have to be cut off. The Confederate army was being beaten back by

the Union and they had to retreat. That meant that Tom was put on a wagon

and carried away. Tom knew there was little chance of him surviving the

ride. Jeff had an idea to take Tom to the Poteets’ house. They had eaten

with them before the battle. The Poteets gladly agreed to keep Tom for a

short while at their house. Jeff and Nelson Majors were very happy that Tom

could stay with them. When Tom’s leg was healed, he and Jeff went back to

Kentucky where their family was from. When they got home there was a big

welcome dinner. A letter came a few days later telling Jeff that he would

need to go back to the army. When Jeff got back, he and his dad talked about

how Tom was doing and the rest of the family. After that, the story ends

just as they were about to go fight another battle.

The predominate conflict in The Gallant Boys of Gettysburg occurred when

Tom was hit by a shell from the Union army. Jeff turned and saw Tom rolling

and rolling on the ground. When Jeff got there, he saw that it had struck

Tom’s leg. He quickly tied a bandage on it to stop the bleeding. Jeff told

Tom that he would have to instantly see a field doctor. The doctor told Tom

that his leg would have to be taken off. When Jeff and Tom arrived at their

home in Kentucky, Sarah, Tom’s girlfriend, saw what had happened to his leg.

Tom thought that Sarah would not like him because he had lost his leg. Sarah

tried to tell him that it did not matter that he had lost his leg, but Tom

did not listen. Sarah asked Mr. Springer, who had recently lost his leg, to

come and talk to Tom. Mr. Springer told Tom that he should get an artificial

leg. Mr. Springer said that he felt as good as new with his artificial leg.

The story ends shortly after they finished talking. I concluded that Tom

would eventually get an artificial leg.